Senator Reginald Murdock was elected to the Senate in 2022 and was sworn in on January 9, 2023. He represents District 9, which includes Crittenden and Phillips Counties and parts of Lee and St. Francis Counties.
Senator Murdock is the vice chair of the Senate Interim Committee on Children and Youth. He is member of the Senate Education Committee, the Senate Insurance and Commerce Committee, the Joint Retirement and Social Security Committee and the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee.
Senator Murdock served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 2011 through 2022. While in the House he was vice-chair of the Joint Performance Review (JPR) Committee, vice-chair of the House Education Committee and vice-chair of the House Insurance and Commerce Committee. Senator Murdock also served as the Assistant Speaker Pro Tempore from the 1st Congressional District in 2015 and in 2017.
During the 94th General Assembly, Senator Murdock sponsored legislation to amend the process by which public schools may obtain waivers. Act 347 of 2023 stipulates the state Board of Education shall use the same criteria in granting a waiver to a public school as it does to a public charter school.
In 2021 Senator Murdock was the lead sponsor for Act 877, which requires electric utilities to have an emergency plan in place prior to severe weather events. He also sponsored Act 691 of 2021 to clarify who can participate in the Teacher Retirement System.
In 2011, Senator Murdock’s first year in the House, he sponsored Act 909 that created the Adult Sickle Cell Clinic at UAMS and reduced overall cost for treatment. In 2015, Senator Murdock was the lead sponsor of legislation to allow a school district to be granted the same waivers that are granted to an open-enrollment public charter school that draws students from the school district.
Senator Murdock is a graduate of Lee High School in Marianna and the University of Arkansas, where he earned a degree in industrial engineering. He is an engineer and contractor. Senator Murdock and his wife, Willie, have one daughter and are members of the Church of Christ.
